>>During the early history of this country, governments declared that only those who possessed certain pieces of paper called "titles" were entitled to the land in question. These titles to land that previously belonged to the government were given to carefully selected individuals. In this way, a relatively few people who were already wealthy gained access to most of the nation's land and used it to multiply their wealth. During this process, most people were excluded from the means to achieve prosperity and had to struggle merely to survive. It was the owning of land that gave power to people and such power was strictly limited in the early days of America. Land and voting rights were part and parcel of government<< The above statement is essentially True, however, it was absolutely necessary for the govenment to control land grants during the early settlement period, otherwise there would have been great confusion! True, more prominent people received land grants, which they sold at generally reasonable prices to anyone who was qualified to purchase it.. This was to insure orderly settlement of the lands to the west... There has never been a time when a person could simply go into the wilderness and select a tract of land and claim it as their own without obtaining title to it.. Some people thought they could and some lost the land they were living on, others obtained surveys and got title to their farms.. Those who served in the Military or furnished supplies during the Rev. War.. were entitled to receive free land based upon their rank and length of service.. Privates usually received 200 acres while officers got more.. This is how many poor men obtained their first land.. I have yet to see any law in the Commonwealth of Virginia which forbade any citizen to own land in Wise County or any other county.. or which prevented anyone from getting an education.. There may have been social factors which interferred, but no laws which I know of.... G. Lee Hearl Authentic Appalachian Storyteller Abingdon, Va..